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By Laura McKenna for The Atlantic As high-school students around the country organize in support of stronger gun-control legislation in the wake of the Parkland shooting, many are finding that, at the very least, one thing they don’t have to worry about is the possibility of disciplinary action hurting their chances of getting into college some day. Superintendents in some school districts have warned that students who participate will face disciplinary actions such as suspension. But over 250 college-admissions offices around the country have responded to these concerns, most of them with assurances that students’ activism will not hurt their…

By Ari Berman for the Washington Post Gerrymandering — in which politicians manipulate electoral boundaries for partisan advantage — is emerging as a key issue in the midterm elections. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently redrew the state’s GOP-dominated congressional map, boosting Democratic chances of taking back the House of Representatives. The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether to outlaw gerrymandering and has three big cases on its docket this year from Wisconsin, Maryland and Texas. Gerrymandering has gone from a wonky technical problem to a matter of great political intrigue. Yet there are many misperceptions about how the process works.…

“When elected, I will be the first Native Hawaiian woman in Congress. I am proud to join a growing number of credible, capable, and compassionate women of color who are working to turn Congress blue.” – Sherry Alu Campagna The American Women’s Party is proud to endorse Sherry Alu Campagna for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District. Sherry Alu Campagna is a Native Hawaiian who was born to a Native Hawaiian advocate mother and a father who worked for the Department of Defense. Campagna is a wetland scientist who cofounded an environmental renewable energy firm. Campagna also has a long history of…

“The job of government is not to impose any limitations on women’s rights, but rather to ensure that women’s rights are not being infringed.” –Lisa Hunter The American Women’s Party is proud to endorse Lisa Hunter to be DC’s Ward 6 Councilmember. Lisa is a longtime activist who joined the Peace Corps after graduating college. She then turned her attention to political work, joining Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign. After the campaign, Lisa moved to DC and ultimately joined the Obama administration in 2010 to work on health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services. During this time…

“This fight is not solely about the procedure of abortion, but about the position of women in society, their sexual freedom, their ability to make choices for their health and their careers, and how much control men have over their decisions.” – Kathleen Williams The American Women’s Party is proud to endorse Kathleen Williams for Montana’s lone Congressional seat. Kathleen Williams is a longtime resident and public servant of Montana. She served three terms as a representative in Montana’s Legislature, where she was the Vice Chair of the Agriculture and Taxation Committees. Williams also served on the Governor’s Drought Committee…

“When women are paid equally, families prosper and our economy benefits.” – Dr. Christine Mann The American Women’s Party is proud to endorse Dr. Christine Mann for Texas’ 31st Congressional district. Dr. Christine Mann is a longtime resident of Texas completing both her undergrad and medical school degrees at Texas schools. Dr. Christine Mann has also long been involved in local political efforts to register voters and organize volunteers. As a family practice physician with three children, Dr. Mann has personal experience with the family issues of Texas and the importance for healthcare for all. Dr. Christine Mann is a…

New York (AP) — Michelle Obama’s memoir, one of the most highly anticipated books in recent years, is coming out Nov. 13. The former first lady tweeted Sunday that the book, to come out a week after the 2018 midterm elections, is called “Becoming.” By Sunday night, her memoir was in the top 20 on Amazon.com. “Writing ‘Becoming’ has been a deeply personal experience,” she said in a statement. “It has allowed me, for the very first time, the space to honestly reflect on the unexpected trajectory of my life. In this book, I talk about my roots and how…

By Ari Berman for MotherJones In January, Democrat Patty Schachtner won a shocking upset, winning a special election for a Wisconsin State Senate seat by 11 points. The district had been in Republican hands since 2000, and was carried by Donald Trump by 17 points in 2016. There are currently two more vacancies in Wisconsin’s state legislature, created after a Republican state senator and representative both left to take jobs in Governor Scott Walker’s administration in December. But Walker has so far refused to schedule special elections to fill those seats, claiming that balloting would be a waste of money,…

“I believe that our leadership should represent our communities. It is not acceptable that fewer than 20% of our congressional representatives are women. The hostile legislation and rhetoric toward women that is coming out of Washington, D.C. at this time can be reversed by electing more progressive-minded women to Congress.” – Jamie McLeod-Skinner The American Women’s Party is excited to announce our endorsement of Jamie McLeod-Skinner for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District. With degrees in civil engineering, regional planning, and a law degree in environmental and natural resources, McLeod-Skinner has a long history of being dedicated to public service. This includes…

“Every person eligible to vote should be able to easily, without jumping through hoops, and without intimidation.” – Vangie Williams The American Women’s Party is proud to endorse Vangie Williams for Virginia’s 1st Congressional District. If elected Vangie Williams will be the first woman of color to represent Virginia in congress. Williams is a longtime resident of Virginia with her family history reaching back 300 years in the area. As a strategic planner, Vangie Williams has a lot of experience with professional problem solving both in the private and public sector. She has worked for NASA, the USDA, IT, and…

Ari Berman for MotherJones The Trump administration’s controversial pick to run the 2020 census has withdrawn from consideration to be deputy director of the US Census Bureau, according to sources close to the bureau. In November, Politico reported that the administration planned to put Thomas Brunell, a political science professor who has defended Republican redistricting efforts in more than a dozen states, in charge of the decennial census count. He was supposed to begin in late November, according to documents from the Census Bureau released by the watchdog group Protect Democracy as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.…

By Ari Berman for RollingStone Magazine On a quiet, tree-lined street in Racine, Wisconsin, in a neighborhood known as the Danish Village for its Scandinavian ancestry, sits a two-story white house with a large American flag hanging from the porch and a pro-police “We Back the Badge” sign in the yard. It’s the home of Republican state Sen. Van Wanggaard, a 65-year-old former cop whose blond hair resembles that of Dennis the Menace. Two houses to the south, Wanggaard’s state Senate district – the 21st – abruptly cuts off to exclude the rest of the largely Democratic neighborhood. This used…